Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Position Lessened by Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,035,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 55,136 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $122,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,541,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,750,472,000 after buying an additional 123,268 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.8% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,687,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $320,151,000 after acquiring an additional 56,793 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Paychex by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,492,000 after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $132.22 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $125.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.11. The company has a market cap of $47.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $133.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.